Electrical advertising sign



Feb. 18, 1936. F, H, MODQNALD 2,030,886

ELECTRICAL ADVERTISING SIGN Filed o'ct. 2,' 1954 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES Amorst PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The invention relates to advertising signs, particularly those of the electrically operated type, and has for its general object the provision of a novel sign adapted to bear any desired advertisingr matter and having incorporated therein the representation of a pair of human eyes which are caused, by changes in illumination, to have the appearance of blinking or rolling, thereby making a very conspicuous display which is bound to attract attention to the advertisements or to any actual goods which may be placed on display, or in fact to anythingwhich it may be desired to bring to the attention of the public.

An important object of the invention is to provide an electric sign of this character which embodies no mechanical moving parts but which is operated entirely by the effect of electric lights which are energized at diierent times in 'accordance with a predetermined plan so as to bring w resentation of the eyes will produce the desired effect thereon.

An additional object is to provide an apparatus and sign of this character which will be very simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install, automatic in action, efficient and durable in service, and a general improvement in the art. To the attainment of the foregoing and other objects and advantages, the invention preferably consists in the details of construction and the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinaftermore fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

' Figure 1 is a view showing the sign itself in elevation and the light producing means in plan and dimensions depending upon the place where it is to be used and the character of the advertising matter or goods to be displayed. In other Words the sign may be a bill-board or it may be made on a smaller scale for indoor or outdoor use, all such variations having no particular bearing on the principles involved. The sign body or face IU is of opaque material and is formed with openings I I shaped like the human eye and covered with light transmitting material I 2 which is preferably translucent, such for instance as ground glass. Painted upon these glass or other similar panes are the representations of the iris I3 and pupil I4 of the eye. In the present instance the white part of the eye is shown as extending above the iris or in other words the eyes seem to be looking down but there is no limitation in this respect as the arrangement may be such as to give the appearance that the eyes are looking up or to either side. At any location, the sign face I may bear advertising panels I5 containing any desired metal or, if preferred, actual goods may be placed adjacent the representation of the eyes, depending upon the preference of the manufacturer or the use to which the sign is to be put. Numerous variations in this respect Will of course suggest themselves.

Back of the sign face I0 there is provided a supporting panel I6 upon which are mounted thermostatic flashers I1 and I8 which, being of Well known construction, need be neither illustrated nor described. Beneath the panel I6 is a partition I9 dening separate compartments 20 and 2| which are back of the advertising panels and within which are located electric light bulbs 22 and 23. Mounted on top of the panel I6 are other electric light bulbs 24, 25, 26, and 21 each of which is preferably equipped with a metal shield 28 open at its top as shown at 29 to permit the escape of heat and formed in its side toward the sign face with an opening 30. 'Ihe shields 28 on the bulbs 25 and 26 are so positioned that the openings 3D therein will be angularly related, and the same is true of the shields on the bulbs 24 and 21. The purpose of this angular relation of the openings is to cause the light from the bulbs 26 and 21 to fall upon the left halves of the eyes, and the light from the bulbs 25 and 24 to fall upon the right halves of the eyes, as

indicated by the dotand dash lines in Figure 1.

As the shields are rotatable upon the bulbs it is clear that they may be easily adjusted to bring about this desired result.

The sign shown in Figure 1 is single sided Whereas in Figure 3 the arrangement is identically the same except that the sign has two faces 3| and 32, the shields 33 in this instance having openings 34 at the two opposite sides so that both sign faces will be illuminated at the same time. 'Ihis is only a structural variation which does not affect the essence of the invention.

In Figure 4 I have shown a diagram of the electric circuits. It will be observed that the two iiashers are connected by a conductor 35 with which is connected one feed wire 36 leading from the electric current supply. Of course it is well known that ashers of this variety are thermostatically operated and embody movable elements cooperating with fixed contacts. The xed contact of the flasher I1 is connected by a conductor 31 with one terminal of each of the bulbs 26, 21 and 23, the other terminals of which are connected by a conductor 38 Ywith which connects the other current feed wire 39. Similarly, the fixed contact of the flasher I8 is connected by a conductor 40 with one terminal of each of the lamps 24, 25, and 22, the other terminals of' which are connected by a conductor 4I with the feed wire 39. In other words the ilashers are in parallel and each operates to control three lamps in parallel, the groups of three lamps being energized in alternation in accordancewithV the alternate action of the flashers.

In the operation, it will be seen that the flashers I1 and I8 will operate more or less erratically-sometimes alternately and sometimes simultaneously-owing to the connections shown. When the circuit is closed by the flasher I1, current will flow from the feed Wire 36', flasher I1, conductor 31, the bulbs 26, 21 and 23, conductor 38 and feed wire 39 back to the source. The bulbs 26, 21 and 23 will then be energized and owing to the provision of the openings 3U in the shields 28 on the bulbs 26 and 21 it is apparent that light will be thrown onto the left half of each of the eyes as clearly indicated in Figure 1. At the same time the energization of the bulb 23 will cause the advertising panel or goods infront of the compartment 2| to be illuminated. When the flasher I8 operates current will flow from the feed wire 36, through the conductor 35, flasher I8, conductor 40, through the bulbs 24, 25 and 22, conductor 4I and feed wireV 39 back to the source. When the bulbs 24 and 25 are energized, the light therefrom passing through the openings 30 in the shields thereon will illuminate the right side of the eyes. At the Sametime, the energization of the bulb 22V will illuminate the compartment 20 and the advertising panel in front of it. This sometimes alternate and sometimes simultaneous operation continues as long as current ows and the result is that one side and then the other or bothsides of the eyes will be illuminated and then darkened, thereby giving the effect of rolling, blinking: or shifting of the eyes from side to side, this producing a very attractive and conspicuous display which will draw attention to the advertising matter.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawing it will be apparent that I have thus provided a very simply constructed and automatically acting sign which will have great value for advertising purposes as will be noted by one skilled in the art.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the disclosure is merely an exemplication of the principles involved as the right is reserved to make all such changes in the details of construction as will widen the eld of utility and increase the adaptability of the device provided such changes constitute no departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. An advertising sign comprising a sign face of opaque material having openings therein shaped to correspond to the human eye, translucent material covering said openings and having thereon the representation of the iris and pupil of the eye, twol sets of electric light bulbs mounted at the rear of the sign face, means on one set of bulbs for directing light therefrom onto one side of said eyes, means on the other set of bulbs for directing light therefrom onto the other side of the eyes, and separately controlled means for energizing the respective sets of bulbs.

2. An advertising sign comprising a sign face of opaque material having openings therein shaped to correspond to the human eye, translucent material covering said openings and having thereon the representation of the iris and pupil of the eye, two sets of electric light bulbs mountedat therear of the sign face, means on one set of bulbs for directing light therefrom onto one side of said eyes, means on the other set of bulbs for directing light therefrom onto the other side of the eyes, and means for energizing the respective sets of bulbs in alteration, said means comprising thermostatic circuit closers or flashers connected in parallel with a source of current, the respective sets of bulbs being connected with the respective circuit closers.

3. An advertising sign comprising a sign face of opaque material having openings therein shaped to correspond to the human eye, translucent material covering said openings and having thereon the representation of the iris and pupil of the eye, two sets of electric light bulbs mounted at the rear of the sign face, means on one set of bulbs for directing light therefrom onto one side of said eyes, means on the other set of bulbs for directing light therefrom onto the other side of the eyes, separately controlled means for energizing the respective sets of bulbs, said sign face having translucent panels thereon bearing advertising matter, and other electric light bulbs located behind'the respective panels and connected in parallel with the respective sets of bulbs.

4. A device of the character described comprising a sign face of opaque material having openings therein corresponding to a pair of human eyes, translucent material at the rear of the sign face covering said openings and having thereon the representation of the iris and pupil of the eye, two sets of electric light bulbs mounted behind the sign face, shields on the bulbs of both sets having openings therein, the openings in the shields of one set directing light therefrom onto one side of said eyesV and the openings in the shields on the other set of bulbs directing light therefrom onto the other side of the eyes, and separately controlled means for intermittently energizing the respective sets of bulbs.

FRANK H. MGDONALD.

Uli 

